Sculpture Mirror Fetish AAA933

An Nkisi figure from the Bakongo tradition

The Mirror Fetish AAA933 sculpture presented by Versmissen is a dark brown wooden figure from the Bakongo tribe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This 20th-century piece measures 8,5 × 7 × 29 cm. It belongs to a distinctive and significant form of Bakongo sculpture: fetish figures commonly known as Nkisi.

The term Nkisi means “medicine”. Substances described as medicines were often placed in cavities made in the abdomen, head or back to activate the work with the stimulating agent. These figures could serve various purposes and had an ambivalent meaning. The AAA933 sculpture reflects this concept, in which the sculpted form and the contents of the cavities jointly contributed to the object’s function.

Details of the Mirror Fetish AAA933 sculpture

• Fetish figure known as Nkisi
• Dark brown wooden sculpture
• Origin: Bakongo tribe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Piece dating from the 20th century
• Dimensions: 8,5 × 7 × 29 cm